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Aims: The use of economical, simply obtained and green adsorbents has been employed as a perfect alternative to the expensive methods of removing dyes from aqueous solution. The capability of rice straw and rice straw ash to remove brilliant green dye by the adsorption process has been studied. Study Design: Adsorption studies were carried out at different initial dye concentrations, contact time and adsorbent dosages. Place and Duration of Study: Regional center for food and feed, Agricultural research center. Methodology: Adsorption data were modeled using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin adsorption isotherms. Results: Freundlich model showed the best fit with the equilibrium data for rice straw; however Langmuir model was better fitted for rice straw ash. Kinetic adsorption records were modeled using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order. It was found that pseudo-second-order was best fit with the equilibrium data. Rice straw and rice straw ash were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Conclusion: Rice straw as an agriculture waste by-product could be used as an alternative to commercial activated carbon as adsorbent due to its availability, removal efficiency and low cost.

Lack of active sorption sites in sandy soils renders metals added by irrigation water more labile and increases their soil-to-plant transfer. Thus, this study investigated the long-term impacts of irrigation using sewage effluents and contaminated groundwater on metal accumulations in TypicTorripsamment soils, and edible parts of food crops. Nine sites in El-Gabal El-Asfar farm, south-eastern to the Nile Delta of Egypt, were selected. At each site, irrigation water, soil (0–30 cm), and the crop’s edible part were sampled in triplicates and analyzed for Mn, Pb, and Zn. Results revealed significant (p < 0.05) differences in metal concentrations among water sources. Thus, constant irrigation caused significant spatial variations in total and available metal contents in soils. Total contents of Pb (in four sites) and Zn (in all sites) exceed the lithosphere range, while the available contents of the three metals exceeded the safe limits in all soils. The index of geo-accumulation indicated no Mn pollution but showed elevated pollution risks for Pb and Zn. The three metals showed high availability ratios, proving the effect of light soil texture. The multivariate statistical analysis indicated that Mn and Zn had similar geochemical behaviors in soils. Metal contents in all crop’s edible parts surpassed the safe limits. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was less than 1.0 for Mn and Zn but higher than 1.0 for Pb. The highest BAFs occurred in cabbage leaves, indicating the phytoextraction potential of this species. Sufficient water treatment and proper remediation techniques are recommended to alleviate metal accumulation in food crops and their transfer via the food chain.

Recently, interest in the benefits of insects for food and feed has increased, while desert locusts are rich in nutrients and can be easily grown sustainably, even though locusts classified as pests that ruin crops. This study aims to investigate the chemical content, nutritional content and amino acid (AA) profile in adults and nymphs of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria Forskal (Orthoptera: Acrididae), such as crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), total carbohydrate (TC), crude fiber (CF), ash, gross energy and minerals content. The analysis indicates that the presence of crude protein, crude fat, total carbohydrate, crude fiber, ash, dry matter and moisture content were (56.79 and 65.92%), (28.82 and 15.15%), (2.98 and 4.59%), (7.9 and 7.92%), (3.51 and 6.42%), (42.34 and 32.46%), and (57.66 and 67.54 %), gross energy content was (498.45 and 418.37 kcal), respectively in adults and nymphs. Generally, the results in both adults and nymphs showed that non-essential AA were the dominant ones of AA, followed by essential then semiessential AA. Minerals represented by P (87.44 and 91.35), K (6732.78 and 7826.96), Ca (33.8 and 50.7) and Mg (13.56 and 18.24) ppm in adults and nymphs, respectively.

The present study aimed to investigate the benefits of ultrasonic method of extraction compared to maceration method, on intensifying the phytochemicals, antimicrobial, and cytotoxicity activities of Eruca sativa leaves and sprouts ethanolic extracts. The ultrasonic treatments of E. sativa leaves and sprout, were tested after 10, 20 and 30 min., whereas, maceration treatments of E. sativa leaves and sprout, were considered after 72 h. Results of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that E. sativa leaves and sprouts are reach sources of active components such as phenols and flavonoids. Moreover, the sprout macerated extracts showed higher total antioxidant activity (TAA), total phenolic contents (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC), compared to those of the sprout ultrasonic extracts. On the contrary, the ultrasonic extraction of leaves was more efficient than maceration. Results of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity showed that ultrasonic treated leaves, sprouts (10 min.), and macerated sprouts (72 h), recorded the lowest effective concentrations (EC 50) of; 2.77, 3.846, and 3.676 mg/100 ml, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was assessed using the well diffusion method. Results showed that ultrasonic treated sprouts (10 min.) and ultrasonic treated leaves (10 and 30 min.) have better antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus (recording diameter of inhibition zone of 13 mm) and Candida albicans (recording diameters of inhibition zones of 13 and 11 mm, respectively). For bacteria, the Staphylococcus aureus was effectively inhibited (recording inhibition zone diameter of 13 mm) by the ultrasonic treated leaves (20 min.), Bacillus cereus was effectively inhibited with ultrasonic treated sprouts (20 and 30 min., both recording 13 mm), ultrasonic treated leaves (10 and 20 min., recording 14, 13 mm, respectively), and the macerated leaves (72 h, recording 13 mm). Salmonella typhimurium recorded (13 mm) with ultrasonic treated leaves (10 min.), and (12 mm) with macerated sprouts. Results of the cytotoxic potency demonstrated high activity of the macerated sprouts on HepG2 cell lines, whereas the macerated sprouts and ultrasonic treated leaves (30 min.) presented high efficacy on the HT-29 cells. Thus we concluded that extracts of E. sativa leaves and sprouts produced using different extraction methods, have a substantial beneficial antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activities.